Jury selection begins in Manatee shooting death

BRADENTON — Jury selection is underway in the murder trial of Cody Rogers, who is accused of aiding former Lakewood Ranch High quarterback Tim Brooks in a robbery during which Brooks shot and killed another man.

Rogers, 19, is accused of first-degree murder and robbery in the shooting of William White Jr. on July 13, 2008, in a botched robbery.

Last month a jury convicted Brooks, a former football standout at Lakewood Ranch, on the same charges after finding he shot White, who was riding as a passenger in a car during the robbery attempt. Brooks received a life sentence.

Prosecutors say Rogers also had a gun and pointed it at the driver of the car, but did not fire his weapon. Florida law allows the state to seek a murder charge if someone committing felony act — such as a robbery — which leads to a person’s death.